


Fireflies

by Redburn



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 5 + 1, 5 Things, Getting Together, M/M, Small Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-15
Updated: 2016-10-15
Packaged: 2018-08-22 13:35:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8287585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redburn/pseuds/Redburn
Summary: “Lance!” Keith got to him first, engulfing him in a bone crushing hug. Lance hugged back, so blindingly happy it didn’t even register right away when he turned his head to kiss Keith out of habit. Or: 5 times they didn't mean to kiss, and then 1 time they did.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eclecticlion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eclecticlion/gifts).



> its way too late to publish this and its probably full of mistakes but MEh enjoy xo

I.

In all honesty, this whole thing started because of Shiro.

It happened on one of those rare nights in the castle when none of the Paladins had any training to do or planets to defend. Lance was more than happy to just sit back and relax, maybe give himself a good facial, or even try again to convince Coran to get a bath put in the ship so he could have a bubble bath like he used to back home.

Instead, though, Allura had opted for another team bonding exercise and had called out through the comms to get everyone to come to the main lounge area. She ushered everyone into a circle, her hands clapping together excitedly while most of them groaned out in protest. Hunk had been keen though, suggesting ‘truth or dare’ to which Allura agreed.

“Come on guys, if Allura thinks this will help us become stronger we should do it,” Shiro, ever the voice of reason, insisted.

“Kiss ass,” Lance mumbled.

“What was that Lance? You want to be asked first? How nice of you,” the look Shiro sent him was way too evil, but Lance didn’t really feel like arguing.

He let out a deep sigh, choosing truth and bracing himself for whatever bizarre question would come his way.

A while later, after Coran had brought out some drinks and snacks for them, they had all begun to actually enjoy themselves. Shiro had just finished telling a rather embarrassing story that happened in seventh grade that involved streaking, glue, and a whole lot of feathers. Lance and Hunk couldn’t stop laughing, clutching their sides while Shiro continued to flush faintly. When the laughter had died down, Shiro of course wanted revenge, and had turned to Lance with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Okay… Lance – truth or dare?”

Lance stared for a moment, trying to decipher what exactly Shiro was up to. Lance didn’t feel like sharing an embarrassing story in return, so without really thinking about it he blurted out, “Dare?”

Shiro’s look only turned more menacing, and Lance gulped. “I dare you to kiss Keith.”

Keith, who had been pretty good at avoiding his involvement up until now, went rigid, eyes wide before turning into slits as he looked over at Shiro. Lance felt much of the same, glancing back and forth between the two.

Finally he cleared his throat, standing up to make the short walk over to where Keith was sitting. Keith didn’t look at him straight away, and what the _hell_? Keith should be crying tears of _joy_ that he was about to kiss Lance, he was a freaking _catch_. Well, whatever; Lance was man enough to kiss Keith like he would casually do anything else.

Keith stood up too, turning to face Lance, and still sporting that irritated look on his face.

Lance let out a huff, bringing his hands up to cup Keith’s face, mumbling out a, “Here goes nothing,” and leaning the rest of the way in to press his lips against Keith’s. He kept his mouth closed, and he may have dove in a bit harsher than intended, but he couldn’t help but notice how soft Keith’s lips were. Lance thought they would have been chapped from all of the lip biting Keith does, but no, they were warm and soft and then when Keith responded, _just_ barely, it sent an odd thrill up Lance’s spine.

Keith pulled away after that, very pointedly still not looking at Lance, and walked back over to his place on the couch. Lance paused for a moment, blinking fast before turning around to sit back on the floor next to Hunk, absentmindedly rubbing at his chest.

Shiro was grinning at him and so Lance rolled his eyes, turning to Allura to ask her truth or dare.

 

II.

 

The second time it happened, Lance would most definitely blame it on their training uniforms not having enough grip on them.

Shiro had called for some training, in pairs today and not as a group. Hunk and Pidge were placed together, so that left Lance with Keith. Things between them had been going steady, still bickering but they had finally started to work more fluently together. Lance was growing more confident in his sparring sessions, with Hunk and Shiro helping him with his technique and Coran had been giving him individual lessons for his bayard. 

He had yet to really train one-on-one with Keith, so he was interested in seeing what the red Paladin could do. Hunk and Pidge’s sequence had ended so Lance made his way down there, high-fiving them both on the way.

He stopped on the far side of the arena, turning around to face Keith who was already in position. Coran gave them the signal and Keith shot forward, eyes focused as they targeted on Lance. An arm shot out, fist coming centimeters from Lance’s face as he dodged, and Lance tried to attack from below, twisting his feet to charge his shoulder right into Keith’s stomach. Keith stumbled for a moment before placing his hands on Lance’s back and doing a flip, landing gracefully on his feet, extending out a leg and doing a 180 degree turn to trip Lance.

“Nice one, Keith, that’s good,” came Shiro’s voice over the comms.

Lance let out a groan, shoving himself up from the floor and rounding on Keith, distracting him for a second with a jab to his throat before circling around him to get a lock on both of his arms. Keith twisted, bending down and lunging up to flip Lance over his front. Lance let go, landing on his hands and feet and bracing himself for Keith’s attack.

“Lance you need to watch your back more,” Shiro advised.

“Yeah, yeah,” Lance mumbled, spinning and blocking Keith’s punch by raising his arms into a cross. He pushed against Keith, sending him back a few feet and charged forward, knocking them both to the ground. They rolled around for a bit, both trying to obtain the upper hand and pin the other down. Finally Lance had managed to grab both of Keith’s hands, pushing all of his weight down on them to prevent Keith from escaping.

Only Keith brought his leg up to kick at Lance’s (luckily protected) groin, causing Lance to lose his balance on the ground. He tried to get his feet to grip the floor, and Keith used the time to rip his hands free, bringing them up to push at Lance’s chest.

But Lance was still struggling to find his balance, and the next thing he knew he was falling forward, his face inching closer to Keith by the millisecond and then suddenly his lips had found a place at the corner of Keith’s mouth. Keith’s mouth had been open in protest before, so Lance’s lips slotted in between them easily, the both of them freezing up in shock.

Lance kept his eyes open, watching Keith, and he couldn’t help but notice how pretty Keith’s eyes were up close. Lance felt his heart pump in his ears, and then just like that Keith had pushed him off, diving after him to effectively pin Lance down instead. Keith was sporting a triumphant smirk, bringing his face down to find a home at Lance’s ear.

“Hmm, now I know how to distract you,” Keith breathed.

Lance suppressed a shiver, watching Keith lift himself up to start heading back to the others when Shiro gave them a time out. He heard Coran call out that lunch was ready but all Lance could do was close his eyes and just lay there, breathing deep.

 

III.

 

The third time was because of an undercover mission.

They had been flying through space for a while now without stops, and finally Allura informed them they had to land at the next inhabited planet, saying they needed backup parts for the shield incase it was ever fractured in an attack.

Lance was just keen to walk on solid ground again, to breathe in some fresh air and eat something local that wasn’t space goo. When the ship had found a home on the outskirts of the big, looming city before them, Lance breathed out in awe of how advanced it all was. It was like they had skipped forward 1000 years in time, the people and surroundings so beautiful and futuristic.

Coran stayed behind and Shiro told them all to stick close, walking as a group into the city in search of the supplies they needed. Pidge couldn’t stop exclaiming her excitement though, going off into rambles about the technology and the science surrounding them.

“You think we can stay here longer than a day?” Lance angled his head back to ask Allura.

Allura merely shook her head. “I’m sorry Lance, it’s just a routine stop then we must get going soon.”

They had finally come across a rather large building, Allura telling them this was where they needed to stop. She, along with Shiro and Pidge, all went inside the building, but the rest of them stayed outside, with Hunk and Lance wanting to wander off and have a look around.

“We probably shouldn’t split up,” Keith insisted.

“We’ll be fine,” Lance waved him off, eyes too focused on the landscape, his hunger calling out to him when he smelled something good coming from a nearby shop. He heard Keith mumble something behind him, but the red Paladin followed them nonetheless. They stepped inside the restaurant and got some food, the smells making Lance’s mouth water. It was all fine until a swarm of soldiers had burst through the shop, knocking out several of the workers in their haste to grab hold of a very angry Hunk and then promptly storming back out. Then it was completely silent.

Keith wasn’t impressed, turning to say that Lance was going to have to be the one to break the bad news to Allura. Lance visibly gulped.

 

-

 

When Keith and Lance had described the assault to Allura she was quick to gather up any information they needed to get Hunk back with them. Apparently Hunk had looked impeccably like a recent escapee from one of the city’s penitentiaries. The actual escapee had a large bounty on his head, large enough that anyone would try to pass someone else off as him to reap the rewards.

“We can only assume, based off of their uniforms, that an organization of sorts took Hunk. All we can do for now is find out who and where they are.”

“Looks like we _will_ get to stay here for more than a day then,” Keith mocked at Lance, to which the other boy responded by sending a death glare his way.

 They did their research back on the ship and stumbled upon an organization called ‘G.R.I.T.’ that Lance recognized, and apparently their base was located in the lower levels of a well established hotel. Shiro suggested Pidge stay in the castle and infiltrate their security system from here, while Shiro and Coran would go inside to locate Hunk.

“What am I going to do then?” Lance asked.

“Oh, right, well we’ll need you and Keith to distract the guards in the lobby. And because this particular hotel only allows married partners to check in, you and Keith need to act like a newlywed couple,” Shiro explained.

Lance blinked at him, mouth hanging slightly open. “W-what-”

“Allura will create a fake marriage license so your story checks out, but you have to be convincing; make a scene, argue, whatever - just give us enough time to sneak in the back.”

“Okay, seriously, _what_ -”

“We don’t have much time to waste, Paladins,” Allura cut in, “So please, after you.”

 

-

 

 _“Okay guys, I’ve found a way to black out the security monitors for a minute undetected but no longer than that. I’ll signal Shiro when his window opens,”_ Pidge told them over the comms.

 _“Keith, Lance, you two need to stall the guards for as long as possible, got it?”_ Shiro’s voice rang through.

“Yep, got it,” Lance bit out, Keith grunting out a ‘Yes’ in response.

They had both thrown on some tacky touristy clothes to blend in with the other patrons of the hotel, pulling some suitcases behind them as they walked up to the check-in counter inside. Lance remembered suddenly to act couple-y, reaching out to twine his hand through Keith’s. Keith’s hand was mildly clammy, and he was pointedly staring ahead as they walked.

“Why so tense, sugarplum?” Lance teased.

Keith shot him a look. “No reason, _darling_. Perhaps just the thought of being married to you makes me break out into cold sweats.”

They approached the counter, the both of them plastering on fake smiles. “Hi there, Mr and Mr Kogane checking in, please,” Keith supplied.

“We’re on our honeymoon,” Lance added, stepping closer to Keith to rub his nose against Keith’s cheek affectionately. Keith froze up for a moment before relaxing, his arm snaking around Lance’s waist as he leaned into him.

“I see,” the woman behind the counter smiled back before rapidly typing something into the computer. “And how many nights were you planning to stay with us?”

“4 nights,” Keith nodded.

“4?!” Lance bellowed, rounding on Keith. “What do you take me for, some kind of lower class citizen who you can only take on a four day honeymoon? I thought you were rich!”

Keith was about to frown when he noticed most of the guards in the lobby turn to look at them now. He caught on quickly, shouting back, “Is that the only reason you married me? Because of my _wealth_?”

“Well it sure ain’t for your skills in _bed!_ ”

Keith actually twitched at that and stepped closer to Lance, hearing Pidge say in his ear, _“Okay you two, Shiro is almost to the main door, but there’s still two more guards left, we need them drawn away now.”_

Lance smiled. He whispered out a fast, “Sorry for this,” before pulling his fist back and then connecting it right to Keith’s jaw. “You bastard! Why did I even marry you? I hate you, I hate this hotel, I just want everyone in here to go to hell!”

And that worked, luckily. All of the guards where now in the lobby surrounding them, trying to get closer while Keith and Lance continued to scuffle about. Keith glanced at them all discreetly as they moved around, trying to count all of the bodies in the room. “We need to dial it back now,” Keith murmured, barely moving his lips.

Lance wasn’t sure a sudden stop in fighting would be believable, so he did the only other thing that popped into his mind – he leaned forward to kiss Keith. He gripped at Keith’s hair, grunting to still show his annoyance to their audience. He ripped away to spit out one last, “I hate you,” before diving back in. Keith hands were pin-points of warmth on Lance’s hips, and the wistful sigh that Keith let out when he pressed closer did something to Lance, his blood pumping hot and loud in his ears. This kiss was definitely an improvement compared to their last ones.

 _“Okay, Shiro is in, good job,”_ Pidge informed them.

But Lance didn’t stop right away. He wasn’t entirely sure why, but something about kissing Keith made him feel… giddy. But then Keith stepped back, breathing fast against Lance’s face, pupils blown and cheeks flushed. Lance couldn’t take his eyes away, about to step in again, until an alarm blasted around the lobby and the guards rushed back to their bases in a scurry.

“Plan B it is, then,” Keith muttered, pulling his bayard out of his suitcase and charging at one of the guards heading towards the back exit.

Lance let out a deep breath before following after Keith to go and save Shiro and Hunk.

 

IV.

 

The fourth time, Lance had to admit it was half his fault, half Zarkon’s.

After one particularly bad mission (of which they still won) they were all feeling pretty beat. Lance had voted they all sleep for the next few years, just put the whole ‘saving the universe’ thing on hold for a bit and relax on some beach planet instead.

After a long shower Lance made his way to the kitchen, getting a measly plate of space goo and sitting at the table. The others were already there, having almost finished their meals and Shiro had begun going over their report, insisting they needed to improve their reaction timing when fighting in Voltron.

“Zarkon came close to having the upper hand again,” Shiro looked around at everyone. “I know it’s the last thing you want to hear, but we need to go back to our combat training this week.”

The rest of the team all groaned in unison, and Lance wished more than anything he could be drunk right now. Shiro left then, along with Allura and Coran, and Lance turned to the rest of the others.

“You guys wanna have some fun?” he grinned.

“Always,” Keith grinned back.

So they started wandering around the castle, with Lance saying how there was bound to be _some_ kind of space booze in at least _one_ of the many hundreds of rooms the ship occupied. They stopped by what Pidge informed them what used to be the servants quarters, and Lance had a good feeling about it.

Not 5 minutes later he came across a stash hidden under a make-shift bed, and so Lance threw a bottle to Keith and Hunk, but said to Pidge, “Sorry, you’re too young for this.”

“How responsible of you,” Pidge mumbled. “Whatever, I’m going back to my room anyway, you three idiots have fun,” and they watched as she left the room while rolling her eyes at them.

“Cheers guys,” Lance raised his bottle, the others clinking theirs against his.

A couple of hours and definitely more than 6 bottles or alcohol between them later, they had all settled down comfortably, with Lance resting his head on Keith’s shoulder and Hunk sprawled out on the bed.

“Looka me,” Lance tried not to hiccup, “Fuckin’ Zarkon’s got me drinking to chase my blues away,” he snorted, “Aha! Get it, ‘cause my lion is blue~”

“Yeah,” Keith chuckled, shifting a bit to rest his cheek atop Lance’s head.

“Guys, hey you guys, how do you organize a party in space?” Hunk asked them then.

“I dunno, how?”

“You ‘planet’,” Hunk burst out laughing.

Lance snickered. “Well, this is definitely one of the smaller parties I’ve been to, but,” he looked at the ground for a moment, then up to Keith, “Thanks for putting up with me.”

Keith frowned and Hunk sat up to look at him. “What are you talking about?”

“I mean, I’m not the best in the team, like, Pidge knows all of that tech stuff, Hunk, you’re a great engineer and really strong, Shiro is just plain badass and Keith man, you may be hot tempered but you sure know how to kick ass,” Lance got out, twiddling his fingers together. “I don’t really know where I fit in…”

“Hey,” Keith grabbed his elbow, tugging it gently to get Lance to look at him. “Don’t do that Lance, _please_ , you’re worth so much more than you think, we wouldn’t be Voltron without you.”

“But that’s the same with you, or Hunk, or anyone – at least you guys have found what you’re good at,” Lance clicked his tongue in thought.

“Stop it,” Keith grit out, his voice so low Lance’s heart skipped a beat. “We need you Lance, more than you’ll ever know, and your part in this team is every bit as important as the rest of us,” he finished and Hunk piped up with his agreement too.

Lance swallowed thickly, finally nodding once and Keith relaxed again, pulling him in for a side hug. A while later Hunk had all but passed out on the bed and was snoring quietly, and Keith and Lance had taken to looking out at the stars as the ship floated through space peacefully. The alcohol in his system was still buzzing, but it was leaving a good feeling behind, contentment. Lance was still resting his head on Keith’s shoulder, and Keith was currently fiddling with a small blade he had found lying on the ground.

“Thanks again,” Lance murmured, “For before,” he clarified.

“Anytime,” Lance could hear the smile in Keith’s voice.

Lance turned his head to ask Keith something, just as the other boy did the same thing. As a result, it didn’t come as a surprise that Lance found himself kissing Keith again. Maybe it was the alcohol, or his heightened senses, but the touch sent a shiver up Lance’s spine. It was only a small brush of lips, too quick-- but it had happened, and he didn't even jerk away in shock. Surprisingly Keith didn’t either; his eyes had widened a fraction, mouth slightly agape, and Lance instead chose to focus on the deep pull of Keith's dark eyes.

“Sorry,” Lance whispered.

Keith cleared his throat, voice small. “S’okay.”

They continued to sit in comfortable silence, with only Hunk’s faint snores to be heard and the erratic beating of Lance’s heart in his chest.

 

V.

 

The fifth time was kind of an impulse thing.

They had all been sleeping when Allura’s shrill voice blasted over the comms, alerting them of an enemy ship that had appeared in their range. Lance stumbled out of bed, splashing some water on his face to wake himself up before he slipped into his suit and armor.

They all rushed to their lions, the bright lights waking Lance up as Blue roared to life. They formed Voltron easy enough, effectively distracting the enemy ship away from the castle as they fended it off. There was a moment of panic though when another ship appeared in sight, having cloaked itself before to not show up on their radar.

Shiro let out a curse, asking Allura to see if it had a weak point. She replied with instructions to attack the underside of the ship, as the main control room was located there that was currently controlling the smaller robots being sent their way. They made swift movement through the open space, and Keith activated Voltron’s sword and sliced right through it, sparks flying every which way as it malfunctioned.

They made a quick turnaround to aim for the other remaining ship, slicing off the cannon’s resting on top before driving the sword straight through it. Only then Allura shouted that it would implode in a mere 5 seconds, and just like that, Lance braced the right leg of the lion on the ship, bending down and sprinting right off it. They flew up, just barely out of reach of the fire as it appeared in white hot blasts below, and Lance heard his team cheer for his quick thinking.

They all made their way back to the ship, deforming the lions and rushing to each other in the main control room.

“Lance!” Keith got to him first, engulfing him in a bone crushing hug. Lance hugged back, so blindingly happy it didn’t even register right away when he turned his head to kiss Keith out of habit.

Keith’s breath hitched and his arms disappeared from around Lance’s waist as he stepped back, eyes darting around to the rest of the team. Keith’s face was slightly flushed, but it might have just been from the battle, Lance told himself. He hadn’t meant to kiss Keith again, but back home he was always an affectionate person, so it honestly just felt so natural to just turn his head slightly to find Keith’s lips.

“Well, uh,” Shiro tried to hide his cough, “Good job team, and you too Lance for your quick escape plan.” He smiled.

“No worries,” Lance grinned, but something ate away at him that left a sinking feeling in his gut.

Later, when they had all stripped back down to their pajamas and returned to bed, Lance saw Keith hesitating in front of his bedroom door when he walked by.

Lance stopped to look at him, and Keith's head shot up when he realized Lance was there. Keith fidgeted a bit, smiling slightly, and Lance couldn’t help but think _‘Beautiful.’_

“Goodnight, Lance,” Keith murmured before finally stepping inside his room, the door closing behind him.

“Goodnight,” Lance said to the empty space.

 

\+ I.

 

Lance knew what it felt like to love someone. He loved his friends, he loved his family, and he had been in relationships before where he knew he had loved his partner at some point too.

So coming to the realization that he loved Keith wasn’t shocking in that respect, no. What shocked him the most was how slowly it had crept up on him. Because sometime over the past year Keith had wormed his way into Lance’s heart. Lance had told him about his family back home, had revealed his insecurities to him, and had confided in him when he was feeling at his most vulnerable.

(Keith had been Lance’s goal in the beginning, this need to surpass him, to beat him, and Lance had finally told Keith one day that it had all just been this desperate need to earn Keith’s respect. Keith had been stunned, asking why Lance was still comparing himself to him.

“You’re you Lance, and no one else is. _That_ is your greatest strength,” Keith had told him softly, before writing it down on a piece of paper and sticking it on Lance’s wall so he would always remember.

Lance always grew emotional whenever he looked at it.)

So now Lance was just trying his best to cope with this new development. He still hung out with Keith normally, they were a great team, and Lance realized with a smile that Keith had become one of his best friends. It still hurt slightly to look over at Keith sometimes, yearning, wanting to feel him, wishing he had the courage to tell him.

They had completed more missions and defended more planets with Voltron than Lance could even count anymore, and so, when Allura’s signal came through to form Voltron they sprinted into action like it was second nature. They suited up, running into positions, and Lance bumped into Keith in the hallway on the way there.

“Hey, let’s go kick some ass!" Lance puffed through a grin as they sprinted down the hall.

“Wait,” Keith stopped in his tracks, Lance doing the same and turning to face him.

“What is it?” Lance asked.

Keith looked right at him, a hopeful gleam in his eyes, his face growing softer. “One for good luck?” He breathed out.

Lance frowned slightly. “One what-”

And then Keith’s lips met his own in a searing kiss. Lance’s heart stuttered, his body melting into it as he pressed back, wanting more, _always_ needing more. Keith’s hands were in his hair and Lance wasn’t sure he believed this was happening, kissing back like his life depended on it, until finally separating their mouths to let out a choked breath. He looked at Keith, his face questioning and so, _so_ hopeful, and Lance felt something hot burn in his chest. Keith brought his hands from Lance's hair to cup his cheeks instead, so delicate as his thumb brushed over Lance's bottom lip.

Keith smiled at him so big and it was honestly one of the most beautiful sights Lance thinks he's ever seen.

Keith moved forward to rest his forehead against Lance's gently, his stare never wavering, “I’ll see you on the other side,” was all Keith said before he moved away and continued sprinting down the hallway.

Lance stared after him, the sentence ringing in his ears.

But he heard it - heard the promise laced in Keith’s words.

_‘Make it back to me.’_

Lance grinned before bolting after him, heart beating fast and knowing Keith would have anticipated his reply.

_‘Always.’_

 

**Author's Note:**

> man it was hard to think up 5 times in which to kiss someone accidentally, or at least, kiss someone for reasons other than just wanting to kiss them aha! but i tried my best anyway xx
> 
> [/tumblr](http://edsbrak.tumblr.com/) x


End file.
